U.S. retailers like drugstores and supermarkets, themselves under pressure from online retailers and so-called hard discounter supermarkets, are responding by pressuring suppliers for lower prices and investing more in private-label alternatives.

Kimberly-Clark is especially exposed to these trends because its product categories have weaker brand value compared with the likes of Colgate toothpaste or Tide detergent. Private-label market share in facial tissues has risen to 24% from 22% over the past four years, according to Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog, while the private-label share of toilet paper has risen to 22% from 19%.

In the second quarter, Kimberly-Clark’s comparable net sales were flat from a year earlier. In the personal-care segment that includes diapers, North America sales fell 1%. In the consumer tissue segment, North America sales declined 4%.

The company is running two concurrent cost-cutting programs. One called FORCE (Focused on Reducing Costs Everywhere) has been going for years and yielded $110 million of cost savings in the quarter, according to the company. An additional restructuring announced in January, to cut 13% of its global workforce and close 10 factories, saved $40 million. These savings were overwhelmed by $200 million of higher input costs, though—especially for the pulp that goes into tissue products.

The company’s gross margins have fallen to 31.6% in the second quarter from 36.1% a year earlier, according to S&P Capital IQ.

The company said it would “continue to aggressively manage costs and evaluate further opportunities to increase net selling prices.” It isn’t easy, though, to raise prices in such a competitive market. Companies also only can cut costs so far before they start undermining their own brand value by shortchanging advertising and product development.

Kimberly-Clark shares are down around 13% so far this year. With no clear way out of trouble for the company, they don’t look set to rebound any time soon.